Legacy Lake- Lee's Summit, Missouri

In yesterday's post, I wrote about a fly that I used to catch some bass on some public water.  For today's post, I am going to focus on the specific body of water that I fished with this fly and share some other observations about the lake.

Recently, I have been hearing a lot of good things about Legacy Lake (located near Legacy Community Center) in Lee's Summit, Missouri.  Word on the street is that this lake is a good bass fishing lake that holds both good numbers and good sized bass.  For once, the rumors are right!

Before we get into the actual fish, let me shed a little light on the lake itself.  I already mentioned that it is located near Legacy Community Center at Legacy Park and to access this 22 acre lake, you really have two choices.  In either instance, you will probably want to park in the parking lot of the community center.  It is a big parking lot and there isn't really any other public parking nearby.  From there, you can walk down a walking path to a dock and boat ramp or follow the path to the right and fish along the dam.  You will find that everywhere else offers lot of vegetation and brush that you would have to hack through to get to the water.  Here's were the irony of the lake reveals itself.

While there is plenty of plant-life growing ALONG the edge of the water, there is very little cover or structure in the water itself.  There's not a lot of moss, laydowns, or weeds located IN the water.  This means that most of the fish (at least this time of year) are going to be holding tight to the bank and darting out to grab flies/lures.  Fishing tight to the bank is key and can be done with a variety of flies or lures.  My buddy Pat (frequent guest on this site) caught some bass last weekend on poppers, jerk baits, and frogs while I caught all of my bass on streamers like the one from yesterday's post.

In terms of the fish themselves, Pat and I can attest that they are FIGHTERS.  They have a lot of spunk and are very energetic.  They also share another common trait that seems both unique and a little odd- they are jumpers.  Now before anyone tells me that jumping bass are common, I already know that, but what makes these fish oddly similar is that they ALL jump.  On many occasions they threw our lures/flies on jumps.  It's almost like they are taught at an early age by their elders how to lose a hook.  Don't get me wrong, it's a lot of fun but I DID lose the biggest bass I have ever hook on a fly due to these acrobatics.  You have been forewarned.

Finally, let's go back to accessing the lake.  You have a few options here.  You can fish by foot but this won't help you cover much water.  Option two is that you walk a boat from the parking lot down a path to the boat ramp.  This trail was NOT designed with anglers in mind and is all downhill on the way to the lake with some twists and turns.  Also, the boat ramp is narrow and short.  Finally, you could find a place to drop your boat and they put it through brush until you hit the water.  While the distance could be shorter with this method, it also looks more cumbersome.  I watched a couple of guys do this and it didn't look like a lot of fun.  Finally, you can "rent" canoes or stand-up paddle boards from the community center itself.  They are free and you can check them out at the front desk of the center.  One last note; if you decide to put your own boat on the water, you can only use electric motors like trolling motors...at least that's what the lady at the front desk told me.

Now to the species of fish you can expect to find in the lake.  Obviously, the bass population is strong.  Aside from that, Pat and I caught some nice 11 inch crappie as well as green sunfish and bluegill.  I didn't see any shad but did see plenty of minnows in the shallows and some of them were getting eaten.  We also saw a pretty good sized bullhead that was floating on the surface.  I also thnk that there might be some carp in the lake as well because I spooked something HUGE in a shallow, mud flat.  It is also important to note that Pat caught A LOT more fish than me last weekend using frogs and small jerk baits.  This is metaphorical because he is a real jerk as a result and mainly because he got more jerks than me on his line.  Please know this Pat, you called down the thunder and now you've got it.  I have a particular set of skills (that didn't work last weekend, but that's beside the point).  I will find fish, I will hook them, I will land them, and they will be in greater numbers next time we go out...maybe.  It IS fishing after all.  You won this round fair and square...with your cute little spinning rod.

So there you have it!  In my brief (2 outings) experience with Legacy Lake, that's what I have learned.  I hope that you are able to glean some information off of my observations and use it to put more fish in your boat.  As always, feel free to contact me with questions, comments, or other useful info at showmeflyguy@gmail.com.  Hopefully you are able to get on the water soon and enjoy one of the many fishing opportunities that Missouri has to offer.

NOTE: This post will be cataloged under the "Small Lake Profiles" tab should you need to access it again in the future.